Caught Up Into Paradise
Illustration
Stories
I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows — was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. (vv. 2-4)
One of the most remarkable things about mystical experiences is that they are experienced by both religious and non-religious alike. And they can be life changing, whether interpreted in spiritual or secular terms.
Dr. Eben Alexander’s best-selling book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, has aroused the ire of both scientists and theologians. Still, this eminent neurologist, who was once an articulate skeptic, persists in telling about his near-death experience which he calls a “beautiful gift” that has radically changed his life. ..”. He now attends worship regularly and tells his story to anyone who will listen.
The doctor speaks to some of the basic questions that all of us have about the meaning of life and, more important to old guys like me, the meaning of death.
A few years ago I received an offer for a new book called, “What Happens After Death?” The promo asks, “Where are our loved ones who have died? Is there life beyond the grave? Are we destined to go somewhere to experience some form of reward or punishment? Do we have immortal souls? Will we be conscious after death? Just what is the truth? You need to know.”
Do we need to know? Can we know? I certainly would like to know if our consciousness survives after death? Does the me I know as myself, my memories, my hopes and dreams, all of the knowledge I have accumulated in my 73 long years, continue after I take my last breath? I hope so. I believe so. I have faith that my soul survives beyond the death of my body, but I don't know so.
The Apostle Paul summed up the uncertainty we homo sapiens have, about all things mortal and immortal, when he wrote: “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then we will see face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (KJV)
Eugene Peterson translates it this way: “We don't yet see things clearly. We are squinting in a fog, peering through a mist...”
During his near-death experience, Dr. Eben Alexander saw things clearly: “My experience showed me that the death of the body and the brain are not the end of consciousness, that human experience continues beyond the grave. More important, it continues under the gaze of a God who loves and cares about each one of us and about where the universe itself and all the beings within it are ultimately going.”
Dr. Alexander adds, “To say that there is still a chasm between our current scientific understanding of the universe and the truth as I saw it is a considerable understatement… The physical side of the universe is as a speck of dust compared to the invisible and spiritual part. In my past view, spiritual wasn’t a word that I would have employed during a scientific conversation. Now I believe it is a word that we cannot afford to leave out.”
But we do not have to wait until we die to know what Dr. Alexander knows-or to communicate with God the way he did in that nether world between life and death. He says:
“So I was communicating directly with God? Absolutely. Expressed that way, it sounds grandiose. But when it was happening, it didn't feel that way. Instead, I felt like I was doing what every soul is able to do when they leave their bodies, and what we can all do right now through various methods of prayer or deep meditation.”
In an interview with Oprah, Dr. Alexander describes God as the very essence of love, “…a brilliant orb of light brighter than a million suns, awesome beyond any words, in and through everything.”
One of the most remarkable things about mystical experiences is that they are experienced by both religious and non-religious alike. And they can be life changing, whether interpreted in spiritual or secular terms.
Dr. Eben Alexander’s best-selling book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, has aroused the ire of both scientists and theologians. Still, this eminent neurologist, who was once an articulate skeptic, persists in telling about his near-death experience which he calls a “beautiful gift” that has radically changed his life. ..”. He now attends worship regularly and tells his story to anyone who will listen.
The doctor speaks to some of the basic questions that all of us have about the meaning of life and, more important to old guys like me, the meaning of death.
A few years ago I received an offer for a new book called, “What Happens After Death?” The promo asks, “Where are our loved ones who have died? Is there life beyond the grave? Are we destined to go somewhere to experience some form of reward or punishment? Do we have immortal souls? Will we be conscious after death? Just what is the truth? You need to know.”
Do we need to know? Can we know? I certainly would like to know if our consciousness survives after death? Does the me I know as myself, my memories, my hopes and dreams, all of the knowledge I have accumulated in my 73 long years, continue after I take my last breath? I hope so. I believe so. I have faith that my soul survives beyond the death of my body, but I don't know so.
The Apostle Paul summed up the uncertainty we homo sapiens have, about all things mortal and immortal, when he wrote: “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then we will see face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (KJV)
Eugene Peterson translates it this way: “We don't yet see things clearly. We are squinting in a fog, peering through a mist...”
During his near-death experience, Dr. Eben Alexander saw things clearly: “My experience showed me that the death of the body and the brain are not the end of consciousness, that human experience continues beyond the grave. More important, it continues under the gaze of a God who loves and cares about each one of us and about where the universe itself and all the beings within it are ultimately going.”
Dr. Alexander adds, “To say that there is still a chasm between our current scientific understanding of the universe and the truth as I saw it is a considerable understatement… The physical side of the universe is as a speck of dust compared to the invisible and spiritual part. In my past view, spiritual wasn’t a word that I would have employed during a scientific conversation. Now I believe it is a word that we cannot afford to leave out.”
But we do not have to wait until we die to know what Dr. Alexander knows-or to communicate with God the way he did in that nether world between life and death. He says:
“So I was communicating directly with God? Absolutely. Expressed that way, it sounds grandiose. But when it was happening, it didn't feel that way. Instead, I felt like I was doing what every soul is able to do when they leave their bodies, and what we can all do right now through various methods of prayer or deep meditation.”
In an interview with Oprah, Dr. Alexander describes God as the very essence of love, “…a brilliant orb of light brighter than a million suns, awesome beyond any words, in and through everything.”
